lewis

a lifting device for heavy stone or concrete blocks consisting of a number of curved pieces of metal or wedges fitting into a dovetailed recess cut into the block

Word Origin

C18: perhaps from the name of the inventor

Lewis1

/ˈluːɪs/

noun

1.

the N part of the island of Lewis with Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. Pop: about 17 000 (2001). Area: 1634 sq km (631 sq miles)

Lewis2

/ˈluːɪs/

noun

1.

Carl. full name Frederick Carleton Lewis. born 1961, US athlete; winner of the long jump, 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1984 Olympic Games; winner of the 100 metres in the 1988 Olympic Games; winner of the long jump in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games

C(live) S(taples). 1898–1963, English novelist, critic, and Christian apologist, noted for his critical work, Allegory of Love (1936), his theological study, The Screwtape Letters (1942), and for his children's books chronicling the land of Narnia

4.

Lennox. born 1965, Canadian and British boxer; won Olympic gold (1988) for Canada in the superheavyweight division; won various professional heavyweight titles between 1994 and 2004

5.

Matthew Gregory, known as Monk Lewis. 1775–1818, English novelist and dramatist, noted for his Gothic horror story The Monk (1796)

6.

Meriwether. 1774–1807, American explorer who, with William Clark, led an overland expedition from St Louis to the Pacific Ocean (1804–06)

7.

(John) Saunders (ˈsɔːndəz). 1893–1985, Welsh poet, dramatist, critic, and politician: founder (1926) and president (1926–39) of the Welsh Nationalist Party

8.

(Harry) Sinclair. 1885–1951, US novelist. He satirized the complacency and philistinism of American small-town life, esp in Main Street (1920) and Babbitt (1922): Nobel prize for literature 1930

9.

Wally. born 1959, Australian rugby league player; played 33 matches for Australia (1981–91), scoring 11 tries

10.

(Percy) Wyndham. 1884–1957, British painter, novelist, and critic, born in the US: a founder of vorticism. His writings include Time and Western Man (1927), The Apes of God (1930), and the trilogy The Human Age (1928–55)